There's Nothing Like A Dame.......

For this project we were put into pairs and had to design and make an outfit for a pantomime dame, for scene in the pantomime we were given. I was paired with Rhiannon Gillick and we had to design and make for the Dame 'Widow Twankey' in the pantomime 'Aladdin'.

We started by researching into the character, who she is, what she does etc... and also looked at the time the pantomime was written for inspiration. The final design was drawn by myself, and was a mixture of both mine and Rhiannon's ideas. The costume was designed for the 'walk - down' scene at the end of the pantomime.

This is the final design:

For the making part, we made body padding, (Bra and Knickers) and played to both of our strengths in terms of making and decorating the costume. We both really enjoyed the project and it was an amazing opportunity to work as a team and learn new skill. I got to use a range of my textiles skills, from Shibori to 3D puff binder - I was in my element! We went on the win the award for best Soap Star and the Panto Dames Exhibition 2010/11.

None of the photographic material or information may be used or reproduced without the prior permission of Lauren Elise English.